Rafael Hernandez Colon

Rafael Hernandez Colon (24 October 1936-2 May 2019) was Governor of Puerto Rico from 2 January 1973 to 2 January 1977 (succeeding Luis A. Ferre and preceding Carlos Romero Barcelo) and from 2 January 1985 to 2 January 1993 (succeeding Romero Barcelo and preceding Pedro Rossello).

Biography
Rafael Hernandez Colon was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1936, and he was educated in both the United States and his home island. From 1961 to 1965, he worked as a lecturer on civil prodecure at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, and he affiliated himself with the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico. He was elected to the Senate in 1968 and supported a 1970 constitutional amendment which lowered the voting age to 18. In 1972, he was elected Governor with over 50% of the vote, and he enacted austerity measures and tax increases to end the recession caused by the 1973 oil crisis. He also supported financial incentives for businesses who moved to Puerto Rico, enriching the island until 2006, when it was terminated after a ten-year phase-out. In 1976, he lost for re-election by a 3% margin, but, in 1984, he defeated his rival Carlos Romero Barcelo and returned to power. From 1987 to 1989, Puerto Rico experienced a 5% GDP growth, and the country's economy boomed under Hernandez Colon. Unemployment dropped from 25% in 1983 to 12% in 1990, and he retired in 1993. He died of leukemia in 2019 at the age of 82.